Keeping Things Whole
by MusicForWords
Summary: What happens when the electricity of the up and coming writer, Richard Castle, shuts off during the middle of the big game? Well he happens to find himself at the door of his sexy neighbor, the one and only, Kate Beckett. Not much could happen with two innings left, right?
1. Chapter 1

We all have reasons

for moving.

I move

to keep things whole.

Mark Strand

Castle's point of view:

There had been a heat wave crawling through New York City for the past couple of days. But that was _okay_ because he had bought some fans and placed them throughout his almost barren apartment. He didn't need to set up the air conditioning just yet because today was the day of the big game, and Richard Castle was not going to miss it.

The up and coming writer had bought a new apartment with the money from his first book that, not to be too cocky, did pretty well for a beginner mystery crime novelist, Rick thought as he admired his new place. The moving in process, which had barely begun, had been halted for the day so he could watch the big Yankees game at 7:05; all that was in Rick's apartment were scattered fans pushing out barely enough cold air, a medium sized TV which he had brought from his old apartment and a beach chair in the middle of the floor facing the TV.

Rick cracked open the single beer he had brought for this very special occasion, collapsed in his chair and turned on the TV. "Game time," he said with a giddy smile. One of his fans gave a cough, sputtered a few beats and seemed to move slower, however nothing was going to ruin Rick Castle's mood, not even a mid-July New York City heat wave.

The eighth inning started up, the Yankees were tied at one and one with the Boston Red Sox. One out and on the second pitch, Derek Jeter smashed a ball to the outfield not far enough for a homerun but just enough to bounce of the walls and get him a double. Rick was at the edge of his chair, beer gripped in his hand and eyes wide, the Yankees were going to pull ahead.

It was almost as if the heavens planned on punishing him for some ungodly reason. As soon as the next batter stepped up to the plate, the TV flickered once and then the screen went black, the game disappearing right before his eyes.

"What the-?!" Rick yelled as he jumped up from his chair to turn the TV back on. He grabbed the remote and pressed the power button, his palms becoming sweaty causing the remote to slip once or twice in his hands. "This is not happening to me!"

The remote had no effects, and Rick dropped to his knees by the TV to manually restart the TV. The sweat had now begun to drip down his neck and strands of hair tumbled onto his forehead.

Rick ran to the fans as they began to slow down and then stopped. His apartment becoming a sauna and he didn't even have the Yankees game to make him feel better.

"Please God, please. I promise I'll be a better person if you just turn this TV back on! I'll give to charity; I'll feed the poor, please anything!" Rick begged from his knees in front of his TV when the idea of getting it back on seemed almost impossible.

And then the lights went out.

Although he wouldn't admit it, Richard Castle slumped against the ground, feeling weak and powerless and the heat began to consume him, he could never go on past this. The only part of his pride left was the fact that nobody could see him in the darkness of his apartment.

And then it hit him, an idea so daunting and daring. She was a _goddess_. He couldn't last 5 minutes with her without spontaneously combusting, it couldn't and wouldn't happen. There was absolutely no chance.

He could never knock on the most beautiful creature to walk this earth's door, or better known as his next door neighbor. He had smiled at her in passing on the first day at the apartment and every day since he's seen her as she come back from her morning run in just a sports bra and spandex, glistening with sweat. He was left mouth wide opened every damn time he saw her.

It's easy to say she was the lead in all of his dreams since.

He couldn't wimp out now; he _needed_ to see the ending of this game and if it meant going over to that gorgeous women's apartment, that he'd muster everything he could and do it.

Rick stood up from the floor, ran his fingers through his hair and smoothed out his shirt.

"Come on Rick, you've got this." He said, the pep talk not doing much.

He pushed open his door with ease, entering the hallway, he took a right, and there it was, her door; challenging him from where it hung by those stupid hinges, his heart began to speed, clump, stutter, drop to his feet and then race again.

"Damn it, Richard Castle, grow some balls." He chided himself, as his knuckles clenched into a fist and he heard three quick raps on her door, which he wasn't sure if he had made or not.

_There was still time to run, _he thought,_ I could go to that bar down the street and watch the game. I'd miss the inning but I'd still see the end… possibly. _

Rick took one last debatable glance at his own door, took the first step back to his apartment, except was halted when _her_ door swung open.

"Hi." _She_ said, standing in her door frame with low slung jeans and a black V-neck tee-shirt that had pulled around her stomach giving a teasing peak at her tight stomach muscles.

Her hair framed her face and then flowed down past her shoulders in long curls. Her hazel eyes staring Richard Castle right down and her eyebrows raised giving off an almost smirking look.

_Damn it, damn it, damn it_, Rick thought. Running away back to his apartment seemed like a mighty fine idea right about now. He was trying to control his heart and blood pressure that spiked to space when she opened the door.

He gave a cough, and finally found words. "Uh… Hey," not very many however. Rick rubbed at the back of his neck, a nervous habit he picked up when he was young.

_She_ just kept staring at him. Not making any attempt at a first move.

"Uhm, hi. I'm your next door neighbor, right over there." He said shrugging towards his door. "Well, I mean obviously, what else would next door mean. It was just that, I, uh…"

She nodded her head, finally picking up his nervousness._ Her _hand stuck out towards him, "I'm Kate Beckett." _Finally a name to the face._

It would have been too obvious if he whipped his hands on his pants, so he shook her hand, sweaty palms and all. "I'm Castle. Rick Castle" He mentally slapped himself.

"And what can I do for you Castle, Rick Castle from next door?" Kate said leaning against her door frame.

_Come on writer boy, where's your grade A charm?_

"It just so happens that I have recently moved in, and for some reason all of the power in my apartment has gone out. Which is a big problem being that the Yankees, Red Sox's game is currently going on."

Rick glanced past Kate Beckett into the depths of her apartment to see her electricity was working just fine. "And well, as it seems you have working electricity and I was wondering if maybe, I could just watch the last two innings in your apartment. I won't make any noise." The words just continued to tumble from his mouth without any filters. Castle took a deep breath, "please."

She paused, thoughtfully. "Yeah sure, why not, it was getting a bit lonely anyway." Kate Beckett then proceeded to turn on her heels and _sway _into abyss of her apartment.

"Well _fuck._" Castle said under his breath as he watched those perfect hips swing back and forth. At this point, all he could do was follow her like a lost little puppy.

"The TV is right through there, would you like something to drink, wine maybe?" Beckett called from the kitchen.

"Anything you have is fine." Castle called back. He looked around her apartment; the walls were a dark shade of blue while they were covered in art. She had a bookshelf that covered one whole wall, jam packed with books. There was a large couch and small TV right across from it.

"I'm just going to turn on the game if that's okay?"

"Yeah the remote should be on the coffee table."

Castle stood, not wanting to impose on another person's place, as he changed the channel to the game. The Yankee's didn't score and they were heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Well _damn._

"Can I ask what you do?" Kate Beckett said as she walked into the living room holding two glasses of wine, handing one two Rick, their fingers gently brushing.

"I promise I'm not like a creepy rapist or serial killer. I'm actually a writer." Castle said realizing she was letting a total stranger into her apartment, might as well make her feel safe. She sat down on the couch, so he decided it might as well be safe for him.

"It's okay because even if you were any of those things, I'm actually a cop." She said, using his own words against him. "Have you written anything I would know?"

"Uh, In a Hail of Bullets." Castle said sheepishly.

Kate Beckett stood up without saying a word, headed to her bookshelf, scanning all of the names before pulling down a book. "You wrote this?" She said, turning so he could see the cover of his own book.

"Let me see…" Rick stood up and headed over to where Beckett was standing. He took the book from her hands and studied it. "Hmm, Richard Castle. Yeah. I guess I did write it." He said with a soft chuckle.

They both glanced at each other, their bodies close enough they had plenty of heat and electricity pulsing between them. Everything in the room swirled as a fan pushed air that rummaged through Kate Beckett's hair, giving Castle an intoxicating burst of cherries.

He heard her breath hitch, and he knew that she was feeling the exact same thing he was. The two stood there, for how long, neither were sure. Rick just knew that he didn't want to move away and break whatever was drumming between them.

She stepped away first, walking past him back into the living room, her arm just barely brushing the sleeve of his shirt.

Maybe she wanted him? Could that be possible? That the swaying hips and the fingers brushing was that she maybe just a tiny bit wanted him?

He turned, ready to finally get his big boy pants on and push this new found idea. "Games back on." Kate said nonchalantly as she sat down on the couch, ruining his moment.

Rick walked over, hesitating having to decide between the couch with the perfect view of the TV or the one seater that really didn't even face the TV. He choose the couch, sitting as close to the edge as possible, not wanting to invade her personally space.

She pulled her feet up, the tips of her toes just barely touching his thighs. _Fuck._ He was going to make it for this last inning.

As it would happen, the Yankees win because of a solo home run by ARod. Castle and Beckett both cheered.

Castle stood, and headed towards her door. With his hand around the door knob opening the door slightly, he turned back to her "I really appreciate-" Her lips collided with his.

Her hands came up to grab his face, forcing him to turn his body into her. Her lips tasted like the remnants of a fruity chap stick and they were so very very soft. But why the hell was Rick thinking that now when this goddess of a person was kissing _him?_

He hands gripped her waist as he pulled her closer to him, their bodies molding perfectly into each other. Her tongue slid into his mouth, searching and probing. Her fingers trailed from his face down his neck and collar bones until they looped around his back, lightly scratching her whole way down.

He spun her, pushing her against the open door as he went. Her legs lifted as they wrapped around his torso. They broke the kiss as Castle began to bite softly down her neck. Right at the point where her neck met her collar bone, she gasped, taking that as a good sign, Castle continued to suck on that spot.

Kate rocked her hips forward into his, rubbing up against his very prominent erection, Castle moaned back. He lifted his head so his lips were back at hers. "So sexy." He mumbled against her lips, taking them prisoner. "In those tight spandex and sports bra, I wish you knew how every guy stared at you."

She moaned into his lips, her hands gripping the front of his t-shirt. Pushing her harder into the, now closed, door his hands slid up to cup her breasts when they were both startled by a commercial blasting from the TV.

Kate's legs around his waist, his hands sitting right below her bra, they stood by the door panting.

"I… Uh…" Castle said, now feeling slightly awkward in the situation that had just occurred. Her legs untangled from around him as she stood in front of him again.

She leaned in for one last peck on his sore and bitten lips. "We'll pick this back up tomorrow. Don't be late. Game starts at 7:05." She said as she opened the door behind her, signaling that it was time for him to go.

Kate Beckett didn't need to worry, Richard Castle would be there by pre-game.


	2. Chapter 2

When I walk

I part the air

and always

the air moves in

to fill the spaces

where my body's been.

Mark Strand

Beckett's point of view:

Thank God her dad had lectured her all about circuit breakers and the flow of electricity before she was allowed to move in somewhere by herself. Never had she thought that creating a power outage was as necessary as it was now.

For a week now, Beckett had been telling herself that the skimpy running outfits weren't for him; they were just a new thing she was trying out. It just so happened that it was the same week that he had moved in.

Kate Beckett had smiled at the man on one of the first days he moved in, although arms full with boxes she still caught sight of his captivating blue eyes. It was just in passing, a moment at that, but her heart skipped away merrily.

She began to take shorter runs then her normal routine just so she could catch him as he'd show up to his new place, always with more and more boxes. But that wasn't for him, no, Kate Beckett was not that kind of girl.

But Jesus, it had been a week, did he really never see her swooning over him? Did it ever occur to him that maybe he should walk down the hall to meet his neighbor, the girl who continued to dream about those blue eyes?

Sure he was older, but that gave him authority, it gave him depth. Beckett liked that. However, all of these things were purely coincidental, she tried to tell herself.

But Katharine Beckett was a girl who took matters into her own hands; she'd give this man something to want because obviously he wasn't going to catch onto her tricks.

It couldn't have been more perfect. She heard him talking to a buddy about tonight's big baseball game, how there was nothing that would make him miss it.

A little pang of guilt shot through her as she planned the idea.

Maybe it wouldn't work and he would actually miss the game and get stuck in this nasty heat wave without any cold air.

_Fuck_ it, he could always catch the game some other time, or just listen to it on a radio or something.

If she remembered correctly, the neighbor before the blue eyed man had blown out the electricity to his whole apartment, which also ended up taking out her bedroom electricity. Maybe, if she was lucky, blowing her bedroom electricity would work the same way? Hopefully…

It seemed stupid, but it was better than actually walking over and asking for sex.

She showered just before the game, making sure to use a little more of her favorite cherry scented body wash, just in case.

Kate dressed in her best ass hugging jeans, and a V-neck that showed off a lot, but also left a lot to the imagination. She left her hair dry naturally, as she normally did.

Kate Beckett then parked herself on the couch to watch the game, waiting for the exact moment.

And that moment came in the 8th inning. The Yankees were tied at one, with Derek Jetter due up. She walked to her room, and found in the back of her closet the circuit breaker, opening up the box; she saw all of the labels to all of the rooms in her apartment. She slowly studied all of the wires inside.

And as the crowd roared, Kate Beckett pulled the wires attached to the bedroom label, and felt the power go out all around her.

This better work, she thought as she walked out of her dark bedroom to see that the rest of her apartment was still lit. Well at least that's a plus.

Now it was time to wait.

The Yankees didn't score and were now heading into the ninth inning.

Beckett checked her watch again, 3 minutes since the power outage. Maybe it hadn't worked, maybe he ran to the bar down the street. She was in way over her head.

Then there were three quick knocks at her door.

"Sucker." She said aloud to herself. Her plan had worked impressively.

Beckett opened the door to see that he seemed almost nervous and distraught.

"Hi," Kate said, as she leaned against the door frame.

She saw his eyes drop to her hips where she could feel the cool hallway air hit the exposed portion of her stomach. Then his eyes continued his trail north to her face, creeping slowly over her hair, to her eyes and then down to her lips.

He fumbled for words, only to come up with an awkward hello.

Beckett didn't make any move to save him.

He tried again. "Uhm, hi. I'm your next door neighbor, right over there." He said shrugging towards his door. "Well, I mean obviously, what else would next door mean. It was just that, I, uh…"

Kate finally decided to give him a break; she stuck her hand out for a shake. "I'm Kate Beckett."

He hesitated before shaking her hand, and when they touched, Kate felt her heart race. _Damn, keep your cool Beckett_.

He introduced himself. Rick Castle. Well didn't that just roll off the tongue?

She asked if she could help him out, teasing him a little along the way

"It just so happens that I have recently moved in, and for some reason all of the power in my apartment has gone out. Which is a big problem being that the Yankees, Red Sox's game is currently going on."

Kate bit her lip to keep from shouting out of joy. Rick Castle leaned past her to see into her apartment. He commented on the fact that she had electricity and if he could watch the rest of the game in her apartment. Adding a please at the end to his stumbling ramble.

She acted like she actually had to think about the answer. Beckett let him in, and then proceeded to sway her hips a little more than necessary. But that wasn't for him; she tried to convince herself of.

Kate pointed out the TV and asked if he'd like anything to drink, being the polite person that she was, mind the fact that she just blew out all of his electricity just so they could meet.

She watched Rick Castle quietly from the kitchen as she poured his wine. He studied the whole apartment, taking extra time to look at the floor to ceiling bookshelf she had.

"I'm just going to turn on the game if that's okay?" Castle called from the living room.

"Yeah the remote should be on the coffee table."

Beckett walked in with two wine glasses, handing one to him, making sure that their fingers brushed along the way.

The electricity sizzled when they touched.

"Can I ask what you do?" Kate said, seemingly trying to make conversation, while really wanting to know more about Rick Castle.

He joked, promising he wasn't anything scary, she joked backed saying it'd be okay because she was a cop.

"Have you written anything I would know?"

"Uh, In a Hail of Bullets." Castle said sheepishly, his eyes dropping nervously. She found it adorable.

However, it took a moment to click.

Beckett stood wordlessly and walked over to her bookshelf. She scanned the backs of the books for the all too familiar cover.

"You wrote this?" Kate's heart stopped as she pulled the book from the shelf.

This was her favorite book. She had read it so many times, after long days at work, in her bath with candles lit all around.

He walked over and studied the book, made a joke about how it said his name and then decided he wrote it.

Well didn't she feel stupid. Rick Castle… Richard Castle. Of course it made sense. How could she have not of known that?

Everything changed in that moment, the love for her favorite book, and her deep liking for the man next door all twisted and swirled into one.

And the lines between right and throwing the man to the ground and riding him like a horse suddenly became very blurred.

Their bodies were close, the pulse between them was strong, and she could practically hear his heart beat racing just as fast as hers. His eyes dropped down to her lips, studying them. Kate bit her lips, his breath hitched.

Castle's eyes darkened as they trailed back to meet hers. His fingers lifted as if they were on a path to find her face.

He wanted this too.

The voice of the announcer came back. "Games back on." Kate said stupidly, trying to break whatever just happened. She turned and just barely, a little on purpose, brushed about against him.

Kate just wanted to continue fueling whatever that was.

She sat on the couch, and watched as he hesitated between the couch and the chair, the couch being the winner. Beckett pulled her feet up, and yet again, as light as air put them against his thighs.

Kate saw the battle he was fighting inside then and there.

As it would happen, the Yankees won because of a solo home run by ARod. Castle and Beckett both cheered.

Nothing had happened. No more words had been spoken within the last inning, and the first of extra innings. Richard Castle, the author, sat as properly as possible and didn't even let one finger stray.

Kate Beckett had had enough.

He stood to leave, walking towards the door. It was now or never for Beckett.

"I really appreciate-" The poor guy didn't even finished his sentence before Beckett jumped him. Fusing her lips to his.

She reached to his face, feeling the slight prickles of his check against her fingers.

His lips were smooth, but not the girly smooth, like a rough smooth that made you want to sink into them, the kind that you never wanted to stop kissing.

Finally his body reacted as he gripped Kate's waist to pull her closer to him. Their bodies fitting like puzzle pieces.

Beckett's hands trailed down his face, to his neck, then collarbone, only to circle around to his back and scratch lightly.

With the grip Castle had on her waist, he made a 180 degree turn and pushed her against the door. Closing the slightly opened door without a problem.

She lifted so she could wrap her legs around his waist, pulling the puzzle pieces even closer together.

They had to break the kiss, or die because of lack of oxygen. Rick trailed kisses down her throat and was coming dangerously close to Beckett's sweet spot and then…

Kate gasped; a wave of heat rocketed south. But he continued, sucking and licking that spot where throat met collar bone. Blurring the right and wanting lines a little further.

She needed friction, and she found it, by rocking her hips forward into Castle's hardness. Earning a moan back, he lifted his head to find her lips once again.

"So sexy," Rick said between kisses. "In those tight spandex and sports bra, I wish you knew how every guy stared at you."

Now Kate Beckett was never one for dirty talk, but if sounded like the seductive Richard Castle's voice and came from the very own Richard Castle. Then, hey, she was all for it.

She moaned and gripped his shirt; he pushed harder back into that poor door.

Castle's hands moved from her waist as they came up to cup her through her bra.

And then, the cop and the writer were both startled by the extremely loud commercial that came from the TV.

And there they were, him standing by the door, and her legs wound tight around his waist, both breathless from what had just occurred.

"I… Uh…" Castle said, fumbling for words.

Beckett wasn't going to let him suffer like she had early.

With one last sweet peck to his lips, she said, "we'll pick this back up tomorrow. Don't be late. Game starts at 7:05."

As she untangled from him, she opened the door they had just been making out on, and gestured that it was time for him to leave.

Castle left, heated and at a loss for words. And Beckett slumped against the closed door after him.

"Well fuck. Now I have to fix the electricity in the bedroom."


End file.
